this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2024
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[–] [email protected] 186 points 2 months ago (8 children)

Oh what's this? Allegations by... 35 women?

God dammit.

[–] [email protected] 72 points 2 months ago (6 children)

Bonus points for his fans shouting about how he wasn't convicted so "He was totally cleared of all that, they're just jealous psychos!"

Because everyone knows sexual assault is notoriously well dealt with.

[–] asteriskeverything 30 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Speaking from general life experience, a lot of those fans are ~~potential victims of the same treatment themselves~~ minors/women

So if you have a child or friend that speaks like that, it is a red flag to pay closer attention to the people they build relationships with and their behavior. I'm not talking about protecting kids from drugs and sex, I mean protect them predators and abuse.

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 2 months ago (6 children)

Yeah. I find that a lot in very disparate genres, too. I pretty much have to look up anyone I like more than a little now.

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[–] RememberTheApollo_ 146 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (30 children)

Went to a metal concert last year for a huge, well known band. The number of punisher/warrior, thin blue line, militia-styled ragged flag, Gadsden shirts and hats was off the charts.

In my younger days metal was anti-authoritarianism, anti-cop, anti-conformity… now these clowns are the ones who want to be holding the riot batons, the body armor, and support the very fascists we hated.

I got plenty of grey hair, the crowd around me didn’t so I’m thinking there’s a generational shift to metal going fascist.

Yeah, the meme rings pretty true.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 2 months ago (7 children)

Your comment reminds me of Metallica many years ago. Their first albums were really good I thought. Then they cut their hair, their music started to sound more mainstream and I heard from friends that the band kind apologized for the anti war lyrics on their earlier albums. I guess money talks in strange ways.

[–] RememberTheApollo_ 42 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (4 children)

That’s the band.

Funny enough they still play those same anti-war songs off the early albums. Play what pays so they can ride around in their private jets.

Edit:

I did some digging. AJFA - One to most anyone objectively is about the horrors of war. The music video opens with the sounds and images of war. Lyrics say the war is done with the speaker in the story. It’s zero distance to understand that the person in the video suffered their wounds as a result of that war. The lyrics literally say a Landmine caused the wounds.

However, Hetfield walked back that imagery and the lyrics to mean:

In a Howard Stern Interview, James states that the song isn't inherently anti-war, but the lyrics were rather about the feeling of being trapped in your own body and feeling like you're unable to interact with the world around you and express yourself and speak your mind and feelings.

So it’s not an apology, he’s retconning the song to this instead of what pretty much everyone legitimately understood it to be about.

Also, regarding Don’t Tread On Me, what people associated with the Gadsden Flag:

Hetfield said the song was a reaction to the anti-American tone of their album ...And Justice for All - "This is the other side of that. America is a fucking good place. I definitely think that. And that feeling came about from touring a lot. You find out what you like about certain places and you find out why you live in America, even with all the bad fucked-up shit. It's still the most happening place to hang out."

Hetfield also said "Don't Tread On Me, I love the song, but it shocked a lot of people, because everyone thought it was pro-war when they thought we were anti-war, and alls we're doing is writing songs, we're not standing politically on any side. "Don't Tread On Me" was just one of those 'don't fuck with us' songs, and obviously referencing the flag and the snake and what it meant, that all tied into the black album and the snake icon on the album cover, and I think it's great to play that song live. We're over here in Europe playing it, and people aren't appalled by the songs. We haven't played it in Iraq or Iran yet, though."

It sounds a lot to me like Hetfield is softballing pandering to right wing fans he doesn’t want to offend and/or personal beliefs that lean Right. He completely disregards the obvious anti-war sentiment in AJFA with “Oh, you all thought we were anti-war? We’re not pro-war, we’re pro-America.” If that isn’t some Chauvanistic Nationalism I don’t know what is.

Anyway, I don’t know one way or the other, but considering the crowd’s fashion choices at the event and his unwillingness to just say “war is bullshit”, which you can do apolitically, I figure Metallica, or at least Hetfield, support right wing ideologies.

E2: another interview where Hetfield says why he left the Bay Area:

*There was an elitist attitude there that if you weren’t their way politically, their way environmentally, all of that, that you were looked down upon. *

So by inference and the preponderance of evidence, he’s probably right wing.

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[–] Son_of_dad 31 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Lot of metal recently using racist ideology, etc. Sucks that anything with a Celtic or Viking design has a racist vibe behind it now

[–] RememberTheApollo_ 33 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Right? Of all people our veterinarian wears a Mjölnir necklace…I had to do a triple take to make sure he wasn’t a supremacist asshole, but no, he’s a legit Norwegian who likes Nordic style in general. He wears a Dragestil belt with silver inlay, some tattoos too. Cool guy. Sad that my first thought was wondering if he was a nazi supremacist because the symbols have been usurped and corrupted.

[–] gorkur 26 points 2 months ago (2 children)

As an Icelander who still practices the old customs this drives me nuts. These scum lack the basic imagination to come up with their own logos so they steal our symbols? Fuck that.

I just wish one of the Kardashians or some influencer would go big on Nordic symbology and bring it to the mainstream. Maybe it would lose its appeal to these fucks.

[–] RememberTheApollo_ 20 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's the thing, isn't it? All these extremists steal other people's stuff and corrupt it to their own purposes. Nazis did it. Religions did it. Supremacists are doing it with Nordic cultural symbols.

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[–] Holyhandgrenade 27 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I find that whenever I go to metal shows, most people are very kind, polite and free of bigotry. Maybe what you're describing is a US thing, or maybe it's just that Metallica is a super mainstream band which attracts more dickheads than your average metal show.
I know metalheads have a history of gatekeeping, and keeping these fascists away from the scene should be priority #1.

[–] RememberTheApollo_ 25 points 2 months ago (12 children)

I can only offer what I experienced at the show I attended. Metallica was touring with Five Finger Death Punch, a very much right-wing "military rock" band that just sucks IMO. They straight up dog whistled the right wingers in the crowd using a lot of "there's something wrong in this country" type of commentary. Metallica bringing them on tour doesn't really change my growing opinion that Metallica supports right wing ideology. My understanding of the greater Metal crowd is that they are indeed good people, I went to an Industrial Metal concert a few weeks back and it was free of the iconography I saw at the Metallica show, and everyone was great. We had a good time. It was also the loudest show I think I've ever been to. Thank goodness for earplugs, lol.

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[–] Dasnap 98 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Me hoping the new YouTuber I found hasn't tried to chat-up any underage girls.

[–] AVengefulAxolotl 22 points 2 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 84 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Nazis ruin everything. Just like how the Nazis ruined the skinhead subculture.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

The Youtube algorithm just showed me a video about that the other day. I didn't even know that they originally had nothing to do with being right-wing fascists.

[–] DillyDaily 35 points 2 months ago (2 children)

My entire understanding of skinheads was "skinheads are fascists" and I never delved any deeper into it. Until the other month when my barber told me I should consider getting a chelsea cut, my gut reaction being "why would I want to look like a neonazi?"

But one simple online search later, and I went back for the shave. The original sentiment of the skinhead culture is slowly being reclaimed, though there will always be two potential interpretations of what someone with that style stands for, I'll happily rock my skinbird cut at union rallies and antifa protective counter-protests when actual nazis try to raid our local queer clubs.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (8 children)

Unfortunately any anti-establishment counter-culture movement that is predominantly white will attract Nazis. And these nazis sometimes don't even know they are one. You even see it in some far left movements. There are people in those movements who call themselves lefties yet have espoused right wing fascist ideology

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[–] TSG_Asmodeus 64 points 2 months ago (12 children)

I know people are saying it's a Black Metal issue, but uh... Pantera :(

[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] TSG_Asmodeus 21 points 2 months ago

Yeah I can't even listen to 'Walk' anymore, fuck.

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[–] Bourff 55 points 2 months ago (15 children)

Metal bands are mostly nazis? Is that the news "satanic scare" like we had in the 80's?

[–] [email protected] 56 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (4 children)

Not metal generally, but you should look into Black Metal. It's a real problem there... :-/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Socialist_black_metal_bands

[–] Bananobanza 24 points 2 months ago

Lol, a lot of those names are a little too on the nose. I mean Kristalnacht and Infernall SS? Can't imagine making a wrong assumption on those

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago (7 children)

says Death Metal

links Black Metal

[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 months ago

Yeah, already corrected it. Morning Rush.

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (5 children)

When I was in high school, the worry was finding a cool punk band and discovering they were skinheads.

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[–] graham1 33 points 2 months ago (4 children)

People who listened to Lostprophets in 200X

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Definitely did that with Sabaton

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 months ago

Reading these comments is making me sweat nervously because I made an 80s-themed submod for a racing game with era-appropriate metal music, and it seems that a decent chunk of the bands I chose for the soundtrack turned out to be fascist or fascist-sympathizing 😓

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Bold of you to assume I know anything about the artists I listen to

[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Saw a random YouTuber I thought I liked do a livestream. He usually does reactionary or random updates content.

I go in and he's ragging on Biden and I see people doing SuperChats with pro-Trump messages and just casual racism. Apparently, Biden's PR person probably should have been white according to these guys. I ducked out, was quite sad.

[–] xploit 25 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Dethklok seems pretty safe.

There isn't all that much out there about Brendon Small though and what I could find he should be a decent enough person....plus I liked Metalocalypse quite a bit, so that helps me 😁

Dunno much about Bryan Beller, Nili Brosh or Gene Hoglan, just saw a few random videos with them so hard to gauge.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Gojira are environmental and humanist activists to a certain degree. At least in their music that is.

Plus they fucking rock, holy shit.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 months ago

When I was like 13 and was learning to play guitar, I learned sooo many songs by Avenged Sevenfold. And then I saw pictures of them playing concerts with the confederate flag, and even had custom confederate flag guitars. I lived a pretty sheltered life and didn't quite understand how big of a deal that was at the time, but it definitely felt a little gross to me. I slowly stopped listening to them.

They did eventually come out and say that they regret doing that, for what it's worth. But I never went back to listening to them.

[–] masquenox 23 points 2 months ago

A few years ago I found this band I liked - then I saw they literally played a concert for the staff at Guantanamo. Man... that was sickening.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

Did one or more of the members kill


A) themselves

B) another band member

C) Random strangers by burning down a church


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[–] Mostly_Gristle 19 points 2 months ago (4 children)

I don't think he's an out-and-out white supremacist, but one of the weirdest heel-turns ever was seeing actual Latino immigrant Tom Araya go from being the face of the evilest thrash metal band in the world to an outspoken evangelical Catholic MAGA-pilled Trump supporter.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 months ago (4 children)

I'd say yes. According to their German Wikipedia entry, they support Sea Shepherd, environment and wildlife protection, and indigenous people in their fight against deforestation.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (10 children)

i can remember back in the late 90/early 2000, that the right wingers pushed hard into the goth and metal scene here, looking for new recruits. it definitely felt like a targeted approach, and they did the same with the techno scene before (where they were mostly thrown out). they had more success in the folk scene, but they slowly gained ground over the last years. this sucks :-(

[–] Anticorp 18 points 2 months ago (1 children)

They didn't realize that most of the metal scene has connection with the punk scene, and the punk scene is full of anarchists and anti-fascists. It's weird how much success they had with the country music scene.

[–] samus12345 21 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Who would have thought that country music, which originated in the South, would be so receptive to white nationalism??

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